Bøger udgivet af Practical Action Publishing

A detailed survey of the main areas of bio-energy and biomass, solar energy and hydro, wind and water power. The authors address the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energies, their appropriateness, and their socio-economic implications.

Few countries face as grim a prospect of food insecurity as the Sudan - bankrupt, at civil war, and ravaged by drought. To Cure All Hunger looks at the scope and the content of appropriate interventions, growth, income, and command over food security. A close study of the causes, dimensions and consequences of food insecurity in Sudan is instructive, not just for policy in that country but also for food insecurity analysis elsewhere. Studying an extreme case throws up challenges to the conventional wisdom which resonate across less difficult cases. The contributors to this volume bring a wide range of skills and many years'' experience to the study. Their focus is mainly on north Sudan and not on the war-torn south. Nevertheless, they do indeed challenge the conventional wisdom, at least in Sudan.

With the right soil, correctly prepared and compressed, it is possible to halve the amount of cement used for block-making - a useful saving. This manual shows how to make and use strong blocks from soil, from the initial planning to the end product.

Examines the question of how developing countries can mobilize and absorb the energies and industry of future generations by providing them with opportunities for productive work, and examines the appropriateness of vocational training schemes. Includes case studies from Nigeria, Trinidad and Malawi.

The poorest often lose out in aid projects because they are not aware of their possibilities, and this is where non-governmental organizations can play a role. The official aid effort has the potential to help the poorest - but it needs to change and become more appropriate to their needs. The book suggests what changes are needed.

This book covers issues ranging from local community budget monitoring to popular mobilisation and media work; addressing a lack of voice and ability to speak out against injustice can make a big difference to people's ability to work towards a point where poor and marginalised women and men are more powerful and able to access their rights.

This publication describes the rural infrastructure support work conducted by Swiss development agency Helvetas in Nepal and Bhutan where over 4000 trail bridges have been built in the last 40 years and considers both the technical aspects of construction and the social and economic context of community participation and funding.

Features case studies primarily focusing on Ethiopia and Kenya to offer research from a variety of regional communities to explore issues of household sales behavior, price determinants, livestock market information systems, cross border and export marketing, and crisis period marketing. Firmly tied to recommendations for future research and policy, the editors contend that current thinking, which asserts that more effective marketing will automatically achieve multiple desirable outcomes, including environmental benefits, may be flawed. The studies presented illustrate how it is possible to improve livestock marketing and achieve multiple desirable objectives through serious and coordinated effort. Filling an important gap in the literature, this is important reading for all those interested in livestock development and pastoral economies in East Africa.

This is a collection of interviews with microfinance practitioners and specialists discussing the challenges facing microfinance institutions as they attempt to become more market-oriented, competitive and sustainable. Microfinance practitioners can read the views, experiences, successes and failures of their peers as well as advice from 'experts'

A review of appropriate technology. A considerable amount of research and development work has been undertaken in specific technologies, and it has become widely accepted that many technologies appropriate to the means and needs of the masses of the rural and urban poor in developing countries exist or could be developed

This collection of essays presents evidence from a variety of countries and backgrounds - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Fiji, Brazil, Nigeria and Kenya are among the countries studied. It poses the question of whether peasant poverty is mainly a result of decisions made in the interests of cities and urban groups.

This book describes communities that first built on their own assets, before seeking assistance from outside. What are the common factors that help all these communities mobilize? Do outside organizations have a role to play? It is aimed at community workers, researchers and policy makers who want to take a fresh look at community development.

This book provides ideas, guidelines, and examples of how to put endogenous development into practice. It also shows how field staff can be helped to learn, and how training or learning activities can best be organized, to support endogenous development.

Farmers' Choice outlines the RIPAT intervention, and examines how effective it has been. This evaluation of RIPAT brings together the analyses of economists, agricultural scientists, and anthropologists who studied the impact, implementation, adoption, and spread of the programme approaches.

Maximum transparency, a profitable structure for saving, access to small loans and an annual lump sum of capital are the hallmarks of the Savings Group methodology. The outcome: empowered groups, made up mostly of women, who manage themselves as tiny financial institutions.Today there are Savings Groups in 60 countries with over 6 million members

Based on extensive field research and in-depth interviews, Achieving Water Security draws conclusions for policy and practice of relevance not just for Ethiopia, but for sub-Saharan Africa more widely, linking findings with current international debates on service delivery in rural areas. Published in association with ODI.

To mark the UN Year of Energy in 2012, Practical Action is publishing some of its best practical briefings and case study material for the benefit of energy development practitioners around the world. Practical Answers 1 is the first in a new series of handbooks that provide guides on a variety of subjects for international development workers.

This book presents 15 case studies and a variety of approaches to document the capacities and constraints to be encountered among communities facing changing climates in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, South Africa, Sudan, United States, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Drawing on experience in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, this practical manual outlines training in "mapping", a successful strategy for organizing and empowering home-based workers. It presents ideas, activities, and handouts around which a wide range of training sessions may be built.

An ideal addition to the toolkit of anyone involved in the installation of solar powered photovoltaic systems, this practical guide provides step-by-step explanations of the process by which technicians can estimate the requirements of PV systems and guides the reader through the set-up and running of such systems.

This book provides a comprehensive review of experience in designing and implementing a wide range of partnerships for efficient and equitable use of urban land. Using examples from countries throughout the world and at all levels of economic development,

The phenomenon of the transnational mega-charity is examined as are the threats to the independence of voluntary organizations from governments, UN agencies and from charities themselves. This is also a story about lessons of heroism and folly, of bungling and luck and failure - and of achievements that have improved the lives of millions.